12 Arrested in Drug Raids at 4 Locations

Narcotics investigators Wednesday arrested a dozen people in connection with a drug-manufacturing ring in the San Fernando and Antelope valleys and discovered what they described as an illegal lab in a Lancaster house.

About 60 pounds of methamphetamine, commonly known as speed, was found in the lab, which investigators described as capable of producing 150 pounds of the drug a week, an amount worth $2.25 million on the street, Los Angeles Police Lt. Thomas Chiarenza said.

The arrests culminated an eight-month investigation and were made while four search warrants were simultaneously carried out at 7 a.m. in Lancaster, Reseda and two houses in Canoga Park, Chiarenza said.

The 12 people arrested were being held on suspicion of manufacturing a controlled substance in lieu of $500,000 bail each, Officer Michael Hargreaves said.

Arrested at a duplex at Avenue E and 50th Street East in Lancaster were Aureliano Andrada, 29; Rafael Guizar, 29; Alfonso Curiel, 30; Luis Reyes, 28; Ignacio Huitron, 21, and Julio Lopez, 35. Mario Vargas, age unknown, was arrested in the 8000 block of Independence Street in Canoga Park; Hugo Vargas, 29, and Mercedes Arroyo, 30, were arrested in the 19000 block of Vose Street in Reseda, and Jose Morales, Hector Martinez and Jaime Nunez, ages unknown, were arrested in the 7700 block of McNulty Avenue in Canoga Park.